drape
Americanverb (used with object)
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to cover or hang with cloth or other fabric, especially in graceful folds; adorn with drapery.
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to adjust (curtains, clothes, etc.) into graceful folds, attractive lines, etc.
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to arrange, hang, or let fall carelessly.
Don't drape your feet over the chair!
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Medicine/Medical, Surgery. to place cloth so as to surround (a part to be examined, treated, or operated upon).
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(in reinforced-concrete construction) to hang (reinforcement) in a certain form between two points before pouring the concrete.
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to put a black cravat on (a flagstaff ) as a token of mourning.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a curtain or hanging of heavy fabric and usually considerable length, especially either of a pair for covering a window and drawn open and shut horizontally.
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either of a pair of similar curtains extending or draped at the sides of a window, French doors, or the like as decoration.
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manner or style of hanging.
the drape of a skirt.
verb
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(tr) to hang or cover with flexible material or fabric, usually in folds; adorn
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to hang or arrange or be hung or arranged, esp in folds
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(tr) to place casually and loosely; hang
she draped her arm over the back of the chair
noun
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(often plural) a cloth or hanging that covers something in folds; drapery
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the way in which fabric hangs
Other Word Forms
- drapability noun
- drapable adjective
- drapeability noun
- drapeable adjective
Etymology
Origin of drape
1400–50; late Middle English < Middle French draper, derivative of drap cloth ( drab 1 )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When Old Glory was planted on the moon in 1969, it had already draped the caskets of tens of thousands of soldiers who died in Vietnam.
From Salon
And I agree it should be socially acceptable to drape oneself in velvet External link.
From Barron's
My nights are draped in the silence of emptiness.
From Los Angeles Times
Next, they worked on adding more “character” to the foyer, which was highlighted by the large staircase with a carpet draped on top.
From MarketWatch
After high school, Lee got a job working nights hanging drapes at a textile plant as well.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
